Solid ink or phase change ink printers conventionally receive ink in a solid form, either as pellets or as ink sticks. The solid ink pellets or ink sticks are typically inserted through an insertion opening of an ink loader for the printer, and the ink sticks are pushed or slid along a feed channel by a feed mechanism and/or gravity toward a solid ink melting assembly. The melting assembly melts the solid ink into a liquid that is delivered to a melted ink container. The melted ink container is configured to hold a quantity of melted ink and to communicate the melted ink to one or more printhead reservoirs located proximate at least one printhead of the printer as needed.
Printhead reservoirs may be formed of a plurality of plates or panels that are bonded or adhered to each other and include openings that align to form ink supply paths that direct ink from the melted ink container toward the ink jets of the printhead. One of the panels of the printhead reservoirs is typically configured to serve as a heater for the printhead reservoir to heat the reservoir in order to maintain the phase change ink therein in liquid or melted form.
To prevent ink from leaking out of the ink supply paths, the adhesive bond or seal between the heater and adjacent reservoir plates must be continuous around the ink supply path openings in the plates. Non-planar surface topography, such as raised or recessed areas, around an ink supply path opening of the heater may result in poor adhesion or bonding between the heater and the adjacent reservoir plates around the ink supply path opening which, in turn, may allow ink traveling along the ink supply path to seep between the plates. Ink leaking out of a supply path and getting between the heater and an adjacent reservoir plate, which may adversely impact the life of a printhead.